What do you think?
Rate this book
Real Vampires
Eight true-life vampire tales put a new spin on horror for young fans, offering quick, page-turning chapters that reveal the truth behind the legends of vampires who have terrified people around the world. Original.
111 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1995
2 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Cohen
204 books58 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Daniel Edward Cohen was born on March 12, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents divorced when he was very young and his mother, Sue Greenberg, married Milton Cohen, a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Daniel Cohen attended Chicago public schools and was a "hanger-on" in the bohemian community around the University of Chicago while in high school in the early 1950s. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where he abandoned an interest in biology for journalism. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in journalism in 1958. Cohen married Susan Handler, a writer, on February 2, 1958. He briefly worked as a proofreader for Time, Inc. in Chicago; but, demoralized by the paternalistic organizational culture, he took a job as assistant editor of Science Digest magazine in 1959. He was transferred to New York City shortly after being hired.
In addition to his editorial work, Cohen wrote articles for Science Digest and for other publications. Encouraged by praise of his articles on paranormal subjects, Cohen published his first book, Myths of the Space Age, a collection of skeptical essays on paranormal creatures and phenomena, in 1967. The Cohens moved to a farmhouse in Forestburgh, New York, in 1969 so Daniel could write full time. He originally planned to write popular science books, but the demands of the market led him to concentrate on books about ghosts, monsters, UFOs, and psychic phenomena. Since then, Daniel Cohen has written on an astonishing variety of subjects beyond just the paranormal: historical and current biographies; advice for teenagers; world history; science and technology; animals and nature; urban legends; and popular television, music, film, and sports personalities. He has noted that he writes mass-market paperbacks for children who are reluctant to read and not especially gifted. Thus, he chooses subjects of interest to such readers.
Susan Cohen was born on March 27, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, to Martin and Ida (Goldman) Handler. She earned a B.A. degree from the New School for Social Research in 1960 and an M.S.W. degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, in 1962. She worked as a social worker in the mid-1960s before writing The Liberated Couple, a feminist tract, in 1971. She wrote eleven gothic romances and mysteries under the penname Elizabeth St. Clair between 1974 and 1981. Susan and Daniel Cohen began collaborating on books in 1982 to help alleviate Daniel's workload. They have written books primarily on popular entertainment, advice for teenagers, and animals. The Cohens currently live in Cape May Court House, New Jersey.
Daniel Edward Cohen was born on March 12, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents divorced when he was very young and his mother, Sue Greenberg, married Milton Cohen, a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Daniel Cohen attended Chicago public schools and was a "hanger-on" in the bohemian community around the University of Chicago while in high school in the early 1950s. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where he abandoned an interest in biology for journalism. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in journalism in 1958. Cohen married Susan Handler, a writer, on February 2, 1958. He briefly worked as a proofreader for Time, Inc. in Chicago; but, demoralized by the paternalistic organizational culture, he took a job as assistant editor of Science Digest magazine in 1959. He was transferred to New York City shortly after being hired.
In addition to his editorial work, Cohen wrote articles for Science Digest and for other publications. Encouraged by praise of his articles on paranormal subjects, Cohen published his first book, Myths of the Space Age, a collection of skeptical essays on paranormal creatures and phenomena, in 1967. The Cohens moved to a farmhouse in Forestburgh, New York, in 1969 so Daniel could write full time. He originally planned to write popular science books, but the demands of the market led him to concentrate on books about ghosts, monsters, UFOs, and psychic phenomena. Since then, Daniel Cohen has written on an astonishing variety of subjects beyond just the paranormal: historical and current biographies; advice for teenagers; world history; science and technology; animals and nature; urban legends; and popular television, music, film, and sports personalities. He has noted that he writes mass-market paperbacks for children who are reluctant to read and not especially gifted. Thus, he chooses subjects of interest to such readers.
Susan Cohen was born on March 27, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, to Martin and Ida (Goldman) Handler. She earned a B.A. degree from the New School for Social Research in 1960 and an M.S.W. degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, in 1962. She worked as a social worker in the mid-1960s before writing The Liberated Couple, a feminist tract, in 1971. She wrote eleven gothic romances and mysteries under the penname Elizabeth St. Clair between 1974 and 1981. Susan and Daniel Cohen began collaborating on books in 1982 to help alleviate Daniel's workload. They have written books primarily on popular entertainment, advice for teenagers, and animals. The Cohens currently live in Cape May Court House, New Jersey.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 4, 2013
I don't know what I was expecting--but this book attempted to pass itself off as non-fiction. It was more like bunk, bunk and more bunk.
Lots of unverifiable names and places, and descriptions of disturbed skeletons offered up as quasi-proof.
When he discounted Dracula, and misspelled "Vlad" as Vald Tepes (page 5) as the Transylvanian prince, my interest -- and faith in this book -- dropped to ZERO.
Real vampires suck people's blood, there are people who dedicate themselves to that activity and there should have been more of those kinds of cases. Kind of impossible, because few people are willing to admit to that, really. You would have to scan the history books, or current events, prisons . . . and this guy did not appear to have done his "homework." Very disappointing.
Lots of unverifiable names and places, and descriptions of disturbed skeletons offered up as quasi-proof.
When he discounted Dracula, and misspelled "Vlad" as Vald Tepes (page 5) as the Transylvanian prince, my interest -- and faith in this book -- dropped to ZERO.
Real vampires suck people's blood, there are people who dedicate themselves to that activity and there should have been more of those kinds of cases. Kind of impossible, because few people are willing to admit to that, really. You would have to scan the history books, or current events, prisons . . . and this guy did not appear to have done his "homework." Very disappointing.
April 28, 2010
I didn't really enjoy reading this book that much. I learned a few interesting facts that I didn't know before, but it wasn't very entertaining and I thought the author was repetitive in what he was writing. The one thing that I did like about it was that it was a quick read and I was glad when I got to the end.
March 9, 2020
Daniel Cohen is a source of deep personal nostalgia, since I read many of his books in school. I'm taken back to a more innocent time, when my idea of fun was perusing accounts from Polish peasants of macabre and inexplicable nocturnal occurrences. Sigh.
October 24, 2022
Daniel Cohen's Real Vampires is another childhood classic, another gateway horror book, and a staple perfect for Autumn reading!
Meshing historical-based accounts by people and folklore, Real Vampires depicts a number of vampiric happenings all over the world. Russian and Chinese folklore detailing vampirism happened to be two chapters worth of material I personally found to be fascinating. There's a college vampire story related here that features a pet peeve of mine in wrists being slit that I find uncomfortably gruesome. But that's the point of horror right?
In case you assume your neighbor's a vampire, it doesn't hurt to read this book for more information!
Meshing historical-based accounts by people and folklore, Real Vampires depicts a number of vampiric happenings all over the world. Russian and Chinese folklore detailing vampirism happened to be two chapters worth of material I personally found to be fascinating. There's a college vampire story related here that features a pet peeve of mine in wrists being slit that I find uncomfortably gruesome. But that's the point of horror right?
In case you assume your neighbor's a vampire, it doesn't hurt to read this book for more information!
November 5, 2017
This was fun to read, which is a little strange to say about a vampire nonfiction book.
There was a great list of research materials, and the stories were retold with a perfect balance of the provable facts and great storytelling. The author doesn't attempt to justify vampire's existence or argue for or against it, he just presents the various stories and legends as they're told by others.
A great collection, and a great place to start if researching vampire lore or tales of real life 'vampires'. Excellent resource for writers!
There was a great list of research materials, and the stories were retold with a perfect balance of the provable facts and great storytelling. The author doesn't attempt to justify vampire's existence or argue for or against it, he just presents the various stories and legends as they're told by others.
A great collection, and a great place to start if researching vampire lore or tales of real life 'vampires'. Excellent resource for writers!
September 15, 2022
3.5/5 stars
Good for those who are interested in historical Vampire stuff. which is interesting to learn about.
Is sort of Repeative
has a lot of boring parts
The book is also full of spelling errors- simple, noticeable mistakes
and I disagree with cohen on his opinions and he seems to be rather snobby and not fun personally. which is my opinion by how he wrote this book.
Good for those who are interested in historical Vampire stuff. which is interesting to learn about.
Is sort of Repeative
has a lot of boring parts
The book is also full of spelling errors- simple, noticeable mistakes
and I disagree with cohen on his opinions and he seems to be rather snobby and not fun personally. which is my opinion by how he wrote this book.
December 14, 2012
This book was boring because I had to read it. I like fansty.
December 19, 2013
I really didn't like this book. I was more hoping I would get the horror factor from the book but it seemed like a lot of facts. It really wasn't to intersting either.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews